** WINNER!! WINNER!! #88: Maryellen – Congratulations! Contact me at katie@marriageconfessions.com to claim your prize! Thanks to everyone for entering! **
I debated whether to review this product because I’ve already reviewed an Eric Carle product recently, but it’s too darn good not to share. For Gracie’s birthday, my mother-in-law, Jackie, brought Bean a few little goodies, too. One of them were these fabulous Eric Carle lacing cards.
The box set comes with 10 cardboard lacing cards, each with a Eric Carle drawing on it, and 10 different colored strings. (Only 6 are pictured here because the other four were up in Bean’s room and I was too lazy to go get them…)
Like the Eric Carle flashcards, these lacing cards are beautiful. The colors are vivid and rich, and the animals are just unique enough to not be the standard animals in all kids toys.
Not only are these beautiful, but the activity is perfect right now for Bean’s age. He is getting more patient and has a much longer attention span, so I’ve been looking for more activities for him that require some more thought. These lacing cards keep him busy for 20-30 minutes at a time right now.
I also like them because they promote fine motor skills. It requires excellent eye/hand coordination. But I like it most because it helps Bean practice PATIENCE! As a two-and-a-half year old, patience is in short order in Bean’s world. Surprisingly though, Bean is very patient when he is engaged in this activity.
I keep this set in my diaper bag (or Bean’s backpack, whatever we have with us) and pull it out when I need him to sit quietly for a while. I used them last week at the doctors office when we had to sit and wait for 15 minutes while Bean had a breathing treatment. He sat there the whole time working on his cards while he got his treatment. I also pulled them out yesterday when I took both kids to the grocery store with me (I was desperate!). I gave Gracie two strings to wave around, and Bean sat next to her and laced the cards while I shopped.
I can’t recommend this activity enough for toddler/preschool aged kids. It’s educational, creative, and engaging. What more could you want from an activity?
Today I’m giving away a set of the Eric Carle flashcards TO YOU! To be entered to win, leave a comment below telling me what your favorite activity or game was as a child. What did YOU like to do? For me, it was playing pretend with my sister. We’d pretend to be fairies, dogs, monkeys, adults, teachers, ballerinas…pretty much anything you can imagine. I can’t ever remember playing inside or watching TV. I just remember being up in trees or in creeks or in our cul-de-sac, pretending to be something and bossing my sister around. We may not have worked our eye/hand coordination necessarily, but we KILLED the creativity skills!
Good luck!
** UPDATED: So, I’m about two weeks late posting the winner of this giveaway. Sorry, guys. The winner is commenter #1: Betty!! Congratulations, Betty! Email me at katie@marriageconfessions.com to claim your prize. Thanks for playing everyone!**
I have been meaning to post about these flash cards since Bean got them for Christmas (or maybe his birthday?) last year. Chris’s mom gave them to him. She is always finding the most educational and creative gifts for Bean and Gracie. Jackie gives things that most people don’t find and so her gifts always have something unique and memorable about them. These Eric Carle Animal Flashcards are the perfect example.
First of all, I am a sucker for Eric Carle. I love his art work. I think it is beautiful and whimsical and bright and vibrant, which is everything I think art should be. His baby books are big hits around my house, but these flashcards might be an even bigger hit, actually.
You can’t really tell from these pictures, but they are a nice sized, sturdy flashcard on board-like material in a gift-quality display box. They hold up really well to a toddler’s rowdy learning style, or a baby’s gummy slobbers.
The letters are large, colorful, and easy to read for Bean. And I like that they show the upper and lower case letters for each.
And what would Eric Carle flashcards be without beautiful artwork?
Each card has a vibrant drawing of an animal or sea creature on the back that corresponds with the letter on the front. Unlike other flashcards, these are large pictures since the flashcards themselves are the size of a medium-sized board book. It makes them easy to see and easy for tiny toddler hands to manipulate.
Another thing I really like about these flashcards are that some of the animals and sea creatures are non-traditional. For example, everyone has bunnies on B flashcards, but this set has a buffalo instead. It gives Bean a chance to learn other animals that he might now normally see, such as a yak, a quetzal, or a narwhal.
I really can’t recommend these flashcards enough. They are so nice that they would make a lovely baby shower or first, second, or third birthday gift for a child. I was thinking about giving a set away to you all and was a little worried about how much they were going to cost. I easily thought these were $25 or more, given their high quality, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were only $10 on Amazon! So – I’m giving away TWO sets!
To enter to win, leave a comment below telling me what word you always have trouble pronouncing or spelling. What word would you need a flashcard for??? The giveaway will be open until 8:00pm EST on Friday, 2/3. I’ll announce two winners on Monday.
Good luck!
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This giveaway is sponsored by Bean. Because he loves these flashcards. And he’s nice.
